TfL Ref: 0976-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 22 July 2017 asking for information about stations with wide aisle ticket gates.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.  You asked:

I would like to request a list of stations managed by TFL which have wide aisle ticket gates installed along with the date of installation.

I would also like to request a list of stations managed by TFL which have manual gates installed.

Furthermore I would like a schedule of planned installation of wide aisle gates at other stations in the future.

Firstly, a WAG (Wider Aisle Gate) is just a wider version of a standard automatic gate. This is a gate that is opens automatically by the application of a valid ticket or travel card by a customer to pass through without the necessary intervention of a member of staff to assist – effectively allowing self service access to customers

A manual gate is not automatic and is just a gate that needs unlocking (by a member of staff) and then physically opening. If locked and local staff are not around it does not allow self service access by disabled or encumbered customers.

Attached is a comparison sheet showing and comparing the various gates for your information.

Every underground station which is managed by London Underground which operates an automatic gateline (some stations such as Mill Hill East or South Kenton do not) now has at least 1 WAG in operation excluding Watford which currently operates a manual gate. Watford is scheduled to have this manual gate replaced with a WAG in the next 3 to 6 months.

The WAGs have been installed in four phases; I attach details of the dates of the phases, and the list of the 74 stations for the last phase with installation dates (phase 4).  

Stations which have manual gates will alll have WAGs, but in some gatelines there may be both.   

The attached list from 2015 shows existing manual gates on the network at that date. It is possible that this is not completely accurate as at today’s date as some of the major project sites may have had their manual gates removed more recently and in order to check each site for any locally held updates, conducting an organisation wide search would be likely to exceed the cost limit which is £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.  Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.

We have estimated that it would significantly exceed the cost limit to check locally at each station to see if they still have a manual gate.

To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking, which could be done by asking about a particular station. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to a particular period of time, geographical area or specific departments of the organisation.

Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London